General Meeting Minutes
April 26, 2004
By Janice J. Artandi, Secretary
Call to Order, Roll Call
The General Meeting of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association was called to order by President Michael Brewer at 7:10 p.m. on April 26, 2004, at the Flanders Nutrition Center.
Executive Board members Tom Weber, Janice Artandi, Eugene Rausch, Ellen Rausch, Lonaway Muldrow and Allen Perkowski were also present. Mary Anne Corwin was absent. A quorum was declared.
Executive Board Elections
Nominating Committee Chair Lonaway Muldrow presented the committee’s proposed nominees to the Executive Board. Then, she called for final nominations from the floor. Tom Weber nominated Lonaway Muldrow for Vice President, which was seconded by Ralph Murelli.
Both Tom Weber and Janice Artandi had previously indicated that they did not want to run again for their current positions, although Janice had accepted the committee’s nomination for General Board Member, where Tom declined to run in that position when nominated from the floor.
The final nominees for election to the Executive Board were: Mike Brewer (President), Lonaway Muldrow (Vice President), Eugene Rausch (Treasurer), Patty Hopkins (Secretary), Janice Artandi (General Member), Allen Perkowski (General Member) and Ellen Rausch (General Member).
Lonaway passed out ballots and gave instructions on voting. Members of the ad hoc Nominating Committee collected the completed ballots. While the meeting continued, the votes were tallied by the Nominating Committee members: Pat Borrelli, Ruby Edwards, Diane Gilbert and Betty Langhorne.
General Meeting Minutes
Secretary Janice Artandi read the minutes of the General membership meeting that had been held on February 23, 2004. Corrections from the Executive Board had already been incorporated.
Motion: Michael Brewer made a motion to accept the February minutes. Lona Muldrow seconded the motion, which passed.
Treasurer’s Report
Eugene Rausch gave the Treasurer’s Report. As of March 31, 2004, the association had total funds of $9,502.32. From that balance, $2,300.26 was designated for Beautification purposes.
Motion: Allen Perkowski made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Lona Muldrow seconded the motion, which passed.
Waive Order of Business
Motion: Michael Brewer made a motion to waive the order of business to accommodate the guest speaker. Lonaway Muldrow seconded the motion, which passed.
Guest Speaker
Patrick “Skip” Heaney, supervisor of the Township of Southampton, addressed the members of the association from about 7:30 – 8:30 PM. Michael had previously sent him a letter that listed our areas of concern and interest. The second half of the discussion was devoted mostly to answering direct questions from the audience.
Return to Order of Business
Motion: Michael Brewer made a motion to return to the normal order of business. Lonaway Muldrow seconded the motion, which passed.
The results of the Executive Board election were: Mike Brewer elected President with 46 votes. Lonaway Muldrow elected Vice President with 37 votes. (Tom Weber had received 6 and Mike had received 1.) Patty Hopkins elected Secretary with 42 votes. (Janice Artandi received 2 and Dave Brewer received 1.) Eugene Rausch elected Treasurer with 45 votes.
Janice Artandi was elected General Board Member with 38 votes, Ellen Rausch was elected General Board Member with 42 votes, and Allen Perkowski was elected General Board Member with 44 votes. (Lonaway Muldrow received 7 and Carl Iacone received 1.)
Committee Reports
Beautification Committee Chair Rose Nigro addressed the meeting about the committee’s plans to hold events that would bring in “big money,” which they feel will be necessary to complete the Four Corners and Flanders Memorial Park projects. She said that they are working on a Crafts Fair that would be held on the Assembly of God property. Rose asked the membership to support the submission of an application for the event. She had already met with Alan Jackson, Director of Parks and Recreation, who suggested that an insurance rider should be obtained.
Rose inquired about the status of the association’s search for liability insurance, which had not yet been obtained. Janice Artandi also reminded the members that there is still an unresolved issue concerning whether the committee should continue to raise funds separately from the association’s general funds. Michael said that several board members are getting insurance quotes and that both of these issues would be discussed at the next Executive Board meeting.
Membership
Ellen Rausch reported that Kim Nelson had recently joined the association and that we currently had 97 members.
Correspondence
Secretary Janice Artandi reported that thank-you letters had been mailed to previous guest speakers Tim Bishop, Andrew Mitchell and DeDe Gotthelf. Michael Brewer said that he was going to submit the application to the town for the annual picnic.
New Business
Michael announced that Assemblyman Jay Schneiderman would be the guest speaker at the May general membership meeting. Michael has sent him a letter asking him to address certain areas of interest and concern to us.
Announcements
Michael alerted everyone that there would be a rally for school aid on April 27. Buses are leaving for Albany at 7:30 AM. He also reminded members of the upcoming vote for the Riverhead Library budget. He said that if the budget is passed, the cost to each household will only be $7-10.
Raffle
Barbara Swislowsky won the 50-50 raffle. The amount to the association was $55 and Barbara won $55, which she donated to the Beautification Committee funds.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:57 pm.